To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention, systems and methods for limiting firearm ammunition capacity are provided. In particular, the systems and methods limit the cartridge capacity of detachable firearm magazines without compromising reliability.
Firearms and firearm accessories have steadily evolved over time, resulting in increased functionality and flexibility over time. Today, there is a variety of firearm modifications and/or accessories commercially available to accommodate a wide range of users' needs. Occasionally, innovation in the firearms industry is also driven by legislative trends, as firearm owners are required to respond by limiting the functionality of their firearms and/or accessories, for example, limiting the ammunition capacity of semi-automatic firearm magazines.
In response to political pressures, Federal and State laws have been enacted to limit features of semi-automatic firearms and also the capacity of firearm magazines. For example, in some jurisdictions, the use of detachable magazines with semi-automatic rifles is strictly regulated. To comply, detachable magazines sold in those jurisdictions must either be designed to or be altered to only accept a limited number of cartridges, e.g. ten rounds.
Prior inferior attempts at limiting magazine capacity include installing a rivet in the side of the magazine to limit the downward travel of the follower. This involves exterior modification of the magazine body and involves substantial trial and error to find the correct position of said rivet. Another prior method involves installing a large block under the bottom of the magazine spring and substantially filling up the bottom space of the magazine body. This method is not desirable because the installation of the block increases spring tension and wear. Alternatively, different magazine bodies can be retrofitted with different replacement springs, but that fails to provide a more generic solution.
Other attempts include modifications to the magazine followers, which is not desirable because the magazine follower is a critical component of the magazine and directly affects the magazine's reliability and functionality. For example, many magazine followers include anti-tilt features to increase magazine reliability and prevent malfunctions, and modifications to these followers are likely to adversely affect the magazine reliability.
In some of the more restrictive jurisdictions, magazine limiting modifications have to be considered “permanent” to be considered fully compliant legally. A common practice is to epoxy or roll pin the magazine body permanently closed. However, such drastic modifications do not allow the magazines to be reconfigured back to their original “higher capacity” configuration when used in other more liberal jurisdictions where these restrictions do not exist.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for improved cost-effective capacity-limiting assemblies for cost-effectively modifying higher-capacity magazines to comply with applicable laws and regulations, as needed, without compromising reliability. These improved capacity-limiting assemblies should enable users to quickly and efficiently limit the capacity of the magazines.